A SNAPSHOT of life in Ellesmere Port has been provided by the borough council in its Private Sector Housing Renewal Strategy & Policy document, based on the last national census.

Ellesmere Port and Neston is the most densely populated district in Cheshire. It has a population of 81,671, a figure which has remained fairly static over the last 10 years.

Three quarters of these people live in the Port, with the remainder in Neston and surrounding rural areas. There are 7,586 people (9.3%) aged 65-74, and 5,711 (7%) aged 75 and over.

The council said in its report: 'It is predicted that the total population of the borough will increase by 1,600 from 2001 to 2011.

'The most significant change is the major increase in elderly people. Those aged 65 and over are predicted to increase by 1,880 (14.4%) and those 80-plus will increase by 820 (28.5%).

'This will have a significant impact on housing need and related care and support needs in the borough.'

Other findings in the document included:

36% of employment comes from manufacturing 65% of companies are struggling with recruitment and 35% of them think there is a shortage of skills locally This January, there were 1,099 people un-employed (2.1%) 43.2% of all homes have owner-occupiers with a mortgage, 31.7% are owned outright, 19.5% are council rented, and the rest are privately rented and shared There were 5,644 recorded crimes in 2001/02. Most were thefts, criminal damage and car crime. There were 385 burglaries Crime was highest in Central, Stanlow, Wolverham and Westminster, and lowest in Burton & Ness, Riverside, Sutton Green & Manor, and Strawberry Fields. The highest teenage pregnancy rates are in Central, Stanlow and Westminster The 2001 census recorded 15,469 people (18.9%) in the borough with a limiting long-term illness and 9,600 (27.9%) of homes contains someone with a disability.